This invention is concerned with safety razors of the kind comprising at least one blade and a blade support of moulded polymeric material which together form a shaving unit which is discarded as a whole when the cutting edge of the or each blade becomes dulled. The blade support is designed to form skin-engaging guard and cap surfaces for engaging the skin respectively ahead and rearwardly of the blade edge or edges.
The shaving unit may be of the disposable cartridge type adapted for coupling to and uncoupling from a razor handle or may be integral with the handle so that the complete razor is discarded as a unit when the blade or blades become dulled.
It is known to provide such shaving units with an insert which releases a lubricious water-soluble polymeric material in the presence of water; the use of such inserts significantly improves shaving comfort. A shaving unit having such an insert is described, for example, in British Specification 2024082B and shaving units of this kind have been commercially available for some years.
The preferred lubricious water-soluble polymeric material for such inserts is polyethylene oxide and this is the material which is, as far as is known, used in all commercially available shaving units of this kind. This polymer is subject to the disadvantage that it continues to leach from the insert after the shaving unit has been used because of the water it absorbs. This can cause unsightly and undesirable swelling of the insert and can lead to the insert sticking to surfaces, such as a razor tray, with which it comes into contact making it difficult to remove the razor when it is next wanted for use and, in extreme cases, leading to the insert being damaged when the razor is forcibly removed from the surface to which it is adhered.